


His name is Buck, actually

by HMSLusitania



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Bobby is Buck's Dad, Gen, Missing Scene, at the end of 4x05, pre-Buddie, someone had to yell at the Buckleys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 14:29:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29902515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HMSLusitania/pseuds/HMSLusitania
Summary: Missing scene from the end of Buck Begins, because someone needed to tell the Buckleys off on Buck's behalf.
Relationships: Eddie Diaz & Bobby Nash, Eddie Diaz & Evan Buckley, Evan Buckley & Bobby Nash
Comments: 16
Kudos: 143
Collections: 9-1-1 Tales





	His name is Buck, actually

**Author's Note:**

> Me, before watching 4x04 and 4x05: Yeah, Maddie's probably right, they weren't bad people just bad parents.   
> Me, after watching 4x04 and 4x05: this is now a Philip and Margaret Buckley Hate space. 
> 
> Anyway, I just really needed someone to yell at them more and Buck was being all mature and forgiving and trying to mend bridges ~~so we have to get his boyfriend to do it for him~~.

The wrong Buckleys are in the station.

Philip and Margaret are sitting at their dining table, hearing stories about Buck from anyone who will talk to them – which is most of the 118. Eddie’s a little touched by the fact everyone who’s in the station – B shift just coming off a particularly brutal twenty-four, C shift in for obligatory wellness check-ups, their own shift about to be on duty – have all found the time to come tell Philip and Margaret about how beloved their son is.

Everyone except Eddie, that is.

He can’t move from the couch because if he does, it isn’t going to be for nice reasons. He’s hiding his face behind a book that may as well be upside down for all the attention he’s giving it because that way no one can see that he’s biting down on his own finger to keep himself from shouting at them.

When Buck had been angry with them, it was easy enough for Eddie to be level-headed, be the calming, steady friend he needed. The one who knew what that rage felt like and knew it was possible to keep it under control without destroying yourself.

But Buck isn’t here, and he’s not particularly mad anymore. Because Buck’s heart is made of gold and he can’t hold grudges like that. Even when he’d felt abandoned by his real family and been told not to talk to them, he’d still done stupid shit like “accidentally” run into them in the grocery store.

Eddie hears his own voice echo in his head saying, _“you’re exhausting,”_ and he sees that expression in Philip and Margaret Buckley’s faces while everyone talks to them about Buck, and he bites down on his own finger so hard his jaw makes ominous creaking noises and he can feel the bone between his teeth.

“You all know Evan so well,” Margaret says, sounding like she’s trying not to be confused.

“Yes, Evan sounds like he’s grown into a good man,” Philip says, like that’s surprising.

“Do any of you know, does Evan have someone—”

“His name’s Buck, actually,” Eddie hears himself say.

Every head in the loft turns toward him. Chim and Hen look frozen, but in that fixed way like they’ve been trying to figure out how to say that themselves. Bobby, who’s been behind the kitchen island the whole time chopping things into unnecessarily small pieces, shoots him a warning look that Eddie tries to heed. He tries to put his head back behind his book and disappear again, but the Buckleys are still staring at him.

“His name is Evan,” Philip says. “That’s the name we gave him.”

“It’s the only thing you gave him,” Eddie mutters, definitely loud enough to carry. He avoids the disapproving look Bobby gives him.

“Excuse me, young man, do you have a problem with how we raised our son?” Philip asks. He stands and takes a step towards Eddie’s couch. Over Philip’s shoulder, Eddie sees Hen put a stalling hand on Chimney’s shoulder before he can get himself into shit with his future in-laws.

“No, of course not,” Eddie says, standing as well. He’s taller than Philip, which makes him feel a little better in the deep, burning ember spot where he keeps his emotions. “You would’ve had to have raised him for me to have an issue with that.”

Philip’s eyebrows raise. “Whatever issues you may think you know about, I’m still Evan’s father—”

Eddie actually laughs at that. “Buck has a father, a real one, and it sure as hell isn’t—”

“Diaz.” Bobby’s voice cuts through the loft like a knife. “Take a walk.”

Eddie slams his mouth shut, teeth meeting in a rough clang. He looks over Philip’s shoulder at Bobby, who isn’t unsympathetic, but is also not kidding.

Eddie storms off without another word. He’s halfway across the walkway to the stairs when he hears Margaret ask, “Who was he?”

“You were asking if there was someone special in Buck’s life?” Hen says, and Eddie appreciates how icy her voice is. “Eddie’s the closest thing you’re gonna find.”

* * *

After their first call of the morning, and after the Buckleys have left the station, Bobby calls him into his office. Eddie sits in the chair he’s spent a bit too much time in for his own comfort and avoids Bobby’s eye.

“It would be inappropriate and unprofessional of me to thank you for shouting at Buck’s parents,” Bobby says finally. Eddie looks up at him and discovers Bobby is wearing a chagrined expression that warms his heart just a bit. “It would’ve been even more inappropriate and unprofessional for me to be the one who yelled at them, so thank you.”

Eddie laughs, just once.

“I just don’t understand how he can possibly forgive them enough to want to have some kind of relationship with them,” Eddie says.

“Because he’s Buck,” Bobby says.

“But it’s not like them talking to each other now can go back and fix everything and make them his parents again,” Eddie says. “They might as well be starting from scratch, and that’s gonna be useless. The only thing they have in common is—”

He cuts himself off because, really, they don’t have what he was about to say in common.

“What?” Bobby prompts.

“I was going to say the only thing they have in common is Maddie, but they clearly care about her as much as they’ve ever cared about Buck,” Eddie says.

Bobby sighs. “Holding on to the people you’ve lost and to all of your grief instead of paying attention to the people right in front of you does tend to do a number on your personal relationships.”

And Eddie’s back to not being able to meet his eye.

“In my case, I was eventually able to forgive myself enough to move on, and I’ve been blessed with an amazing family in return, and two great kids I am privileged to have a hand in raising,” Bobby says. Eddie opens his mouth to protest the idea Bobby only has two kids, but Bobby pre-empts him. “And one adult son who anyone with sense would be overjoyed to take credit for.”

Eddie smiles at that.

“The Buckleys let themselves be completely consumed by grief for twenty-eight years and they will never get that back,” Bobby continues. “And that’s their loss.”

He doesn’t say “don’t be that way” but he doesn’t have to. Eddie gets the message, loud and clear.

“Well, at least we know that when someone finally pulls their head out of their ass long enough to realise Buck’s someone to hold onto, they should come to you for permission,” he says.

Bobby scrutinises him for a second, and then he smiles, amused by something Eddie can’t guess at. “You know? I don’t foresee that being a problem.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please come cry with me about these stupid un-gay firefighters on [tumblr.](http://hmslusitania.tumblr.com)


End file.
